Overhead sectional door



y 1 1965 A c. G. HASSELMARK 3,192,992

OVERHEAD SECTIONAL DOOR File'd Jan. 8,1965 5 sheets-sheet 1 Q Q y/// /////////M/wx/ ////////;/7/

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INVENTOR. CARL G. HASSELMARK ATTORNEYS July 1965 c. cs. HASSELMARK 3,192,992

OVERHEAD SECTIONAL DOOR v Filed 63 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. CARL G. HASSELMARK BYM74 AT TO RN EYS July 6, 1965 c. G. HASSELMARK 3,192,992

7 OVERHEAD SECTIONAL DOOR Filed Jan. 8, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 A? INVENTOR.

CARL. G. HASSELMARK Ewan/7; WM am! ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,192,992 Patented July 6, 1965 3,192,992 OVERHEAD SEQTIONAL DOOR Carl G. Hasselmark, New Britain, Conn, assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Filed Jan. 8, 1963, Ser. No. 250,179 1 Claim. (Cl. 160-2tl7) This invention relates to overhead sectional doors of the type having particular utility as a garage closure mounted for upward movement from a vertically disposed closed position to an open position where the door extends canopy-like above the doorway.

it is a principal aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved sectional door of the type described which is readily adaptable as a doorway closure with a closed position closely received between the jambs and header of the doorway frame. andwhich may be conveniently folded to an open position above the doorway, all with the door operating and control mechanism on the inside of the doorway opening and positioned for noninterference with the doorway opening. Included in this aim is the provision of a sectional door having an open position providing a canopy shielding the doorway from the elements.

It is another aim of the present invention to provide a new and improved sectional door of the type described which has an economical door operating and control mechanism that can be readily and conveniently assembled to give reliable closure operation in variously constructed buildings and garages.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the appended claim.

in the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view partly in section of a door installation embodying the present invention as viewed from inside the doorway opening;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view partly in section of a portion of the door installation of FIG. 1;

P16. 3 is an enlarged transverse section view partly broken away and partly in section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevation section view partly broken away and partly in section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1, additionally showing the door in phantom in partially open and completely open positions; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section view taken along the line 5-=.5 of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, a sectional door embodying the present invention is shown installed within a doorway opening of a garage 12, or the like, having a door frame with a pair of spaced upright side columns or jambs 1'4 and 16, a horizontal header 18 connected to the upper portions of the side columns, and a door sill 19.

The sectional door is suitably dimensioned to be closely received within the doorway opening and includes an upper door panel or leaf Zil having a vertical dimension which is substantially one-third of the vertical dimension of the doorway opening, and a lower door panel or leaf 22 having a vertical dimension which. is substantially twothirds of the vertical dimension of the door opening. The lower leaf 22 is pivotally mounted adjacent the lower edge of the upper leaf by the hinges 24 which provide for abutting engagement of the contiguous edges of the upper and lower door panels when the door is in the closed position and for outward pivotal movement of the lower door panel relative to the upper panel, as shown in FIG. 4. The lower door panel 22 is guided upwardly from the closed position to the completely open position, shown in phantom in FIG. 4, by a pair of followers 30 on the lower door leaf and a pair of elongated vertically extending linear tracks 26 receiving the followers and secured to the jarnbs 14 and 16 on the inside of the door frame adjacent the doorway opening. The followers or guide rollers 30 are rotatably mounted on horizontally extending studs 32 of guide brackets 34 that are fixed to the lower door panel 22 below the horizontal center line thereof.

The upper door panel 20 is pivotally mounted on the inside of the door frame above the doorway opening by hinges 36, here shown to be three in number. The hinges 36 have lower elongated hinge arms 38 fixed adjacent the upper edge of the door panel 29 on the inside face thereof for spacing the hinge axis well above the doorway. With this spachig of the hinge axis, the upper door panel 29 can be readily assembled for closeinterfitting with the header 18 and yet be located well above the doorway when the door is opened, as shown in .FIG. 4. As

best seen in FIG. 5, the hinge arms are offset inwardly adjacent the upper edge of the door to avoid abutment with the inner edge of the header, and are upset to provide a pair of locator tabs 39 that assist in locating the hinges on the door and/or door frame. Thedistance between the pivot axes of the hinges 24 and 36 is established to be substantially equal to, but preferably slightly greater than, the distance between the pivot axes of the hinges 24 and the guide rollers 35 so that the lower door panel 22 in the fully open position is substantially flush with the horizontal molding 40 of the header 18 to obtain a maximum height doorway openingand extends outwardly from the header substantially horizontally but with a slightly downward slope shown to be approximately 3 to 4. The opened door therefore provides a canopy over the doorway shielding it from the elements and providing a runolf for rain, etc.

The sectional'door is provided with an operating mechanism, generally denoted by the numeral 42, which substantially counterbalances the weight of the door panels to facilitate the operation of the door panels by 'a door handle 43 (FIG. 1 The operating mechanism 42 is mounted inside and above the door opening by a pair of brackets 44 and includes an elongated horizontally extending shaft 45 rotatably mounted in the brackets and a pair of compensating drums 46 and 48 fixed to the ends of the shaft substantially'above the tracks 26. A torsion power spring 49 is mounted to provide a rotational bias on the shaft with its outer end fixed to a bracket 44 and its inner end fixed to the shaft 45 as through a collar, not shown, secured to the shaft by a set screw 50. A pair of cables 52 wound upon helixes on the drums 46 and 48 is looped about the studs 32 of the guide brackets to translate the rotational bias of the spring 49 into an upward lifting bias on the lower door panel. The drums 46 and 48 are inwardly tapered to provide a substantially constant cable bias during the winding or unwinding of the torsion spring. The cables 52 extend downwardly adjacent the tracks 26, and inasmuch as the pivot axis of the lower panel hinges 24 is forward of the cables 52 when the door is closed, an overcenter relationship be tween the hinges 24 and the cables 52 is provided to give a closing bias on the closed door.

Although only a single torsion spring 49 is shown, an additional torsion spring could be provided at the opposite end of the shaft 45, as Where a wider door panel is used for a two car garage, it being understood that the sectional door of the present invention is useful for various size door openings.

In the conventional manner the door may be locked in the closed position by a pair of outwardly biased locking bolts 53 mounted on the lower door panel and adapted for automatic locking engagement with brackets 55 mounted on the inside of the door jambs as the door is moved to the fully closed position. The bolts are ac tuated inwardly for unlocking the door by the door handle 43 through a pair of cables 57 interconnecting the bolts and handle.

Weather stripping is provided along each vertical edge of the doorway opening by a pair of strips 56 and 53 fixed to the upper and lower door panels, respectively, and by a strip 60 fixed to the inside of the jambs 14 and 16. The strip 58 extends upwardly from a point adjacent the guide rollers 30 and the strip 60 extends downwardly from the portion of the lower edge of the strip 58 when the door is closed. The molding 49 on the header 18 provides a weather strip along the upper edge of the doorway opening and a sill piece 62 provides a weather strip along the lower edge of the doorway opening. Inasmuch as the axes of the hinges 36 are displaced above the doorway opening, a good sealing engagement by the upper edge of the door with the molding 40 is assured. The closing bias effected on the fully closed door through the cables 52 urges the door against the weather stripping to ensure complete and effective sealing between the abutting vertically extending surfaces of the weather stripping and door.

It can therefore be seen that the sectional door of the present invention provides a unique and economical door arrangement which is readily adaptable as a closure for a doorway opening without necessitating special or custom parts which provides reliable door operation between a fully closed position where the door is closely received between the jambs and header of the door frame and a fully open position where the lower door panel extends from the door header outwardly and slightly downwardly to provide a canopy shielding the doorway. Additionally, with the spacing of the hinge axes and followers and with the relative vertical dimensions of the upper and lower door leaves, the door of the present invention has a fully open position substantially centered above the doorway opening where gravitational forces on the door are directed to the cables with a minimum of loading on the door hinges and the track and followers. Further, with the spacing of the hinge axis of the upper door panel, above the doorway opening, engagement by the door with the header weather stripping is ensured, and the overcenter bias effected through the cables 52 urges the closed door against the header weather stripping to provide good sealin g engagement.

As will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, various modifications and adaptations of the structure above described will become readily apparent without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

For use in combination with a door frame having a pair of spaced upright door jambs, a horizontal header connecting the door jambs and defining therewith a doorway opening, and an elongated weather strip mounted on the lower surface of the header to extend horizontally between the door jambs, an overhead door structure comprising a door having a closed position disposed vertically within the doorway opening beneath the horizontal header and including a rigid upper door leaf and a rigid lower door leaf, the lower door leaf being of substantially greater vertical dimension than the upper. door leaf, the upper door leaf in the closed position being spaced below the header and in engagement with the depending weather strip, first hinge means connecting the upper and lower door leaves providing for outward pivotal movement of the lower door leaf relative to the upper door leaf about a horizontal axis, door guide means including a vertically extending track on the door frame and a track follower mounted on the lower door leaf engage able with the track, second hinge means connecting the upper door leaf and door frame providing for pivotal movement of the upper door leaf inwardly of the doorway opening about a horizontal axis, said second hinge means having connected to the upper door leaf elongated hinge arms spaced from the header with the upper door leaf in engagement with the weather strip and spacing the axis of pivotal movement of the upper door leaf to a point above the doorway, and door operating means providing an overcenter bias on the door urging the door when partially open to a fully open position and maintaining the door in a closed position with the upper door leaf urged against the weather strip, the distance between the axes of pivotal movement of the upper and lower door leaves being substantially equal to the distance between the axis of pivotal movement of the lower door leaf and said track follower whereby with the door in a fully open position the upper door leaf is positioned entirely above the doorway and the lower door leaf extends through the doorway opening in engagement with the weather strip and forwardly and downwardly to provide a canopy shield for the doorway.

References Cited by the Examiner HARRISONR. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner. 

